Ko no Su Dolls

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akamono "red things" - see below
nerimono "twisted" clay dolls - see below
. Nakasendo - 07 Konosu station .
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Ko no Su Dolls 鴻巣人形　Konosu ningyoo
Saitama prefecture, Konosu, Town Koonosu




Kōnosu earned the nickname "Doll Town" for its many "Hina Ningyo" (a type of Japanese doll) factories. Kōnosu is also called "Flower town." It has several flower markets, and many flowers purchased in Tokyo and Kantō region are grown in Kōnosu. The most popular flower in the city is the pansy, which is also the city's official flower.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Dolls from Ko no Su

In Konosu, dolls are produced one by one by the hands of skilled craftsmen. Such Japanese traditional culture as doll manufacturing and associated sense of beauty spread to other parts of Japan, and is handed down through the generations.


source :　www3.city.kounosu.saitama.jp


akamono, aka mono 赤もの red things (for good luck)

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鴻巣だるま Konosu Daruma 鴻巣達磨

Daruma Doll from the Early Showa Period


© PHOTO : www.japan-toy-museum.org


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Here is a collection with one BIG Daruma!


© PHOTO : shuugetu.casse.jp

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A whole group of them !


© PHOTO : s-maturi.la.coocan.jp

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ashitsuki daruma　足つきダルマ / 足付きダルマ　
Daruma with legs,
made by Konosu Town Tachiya Doll Shop 埼玉県鴻巣市 太刀屋人形

They are papermachee Daruma with extra red legs to stand on. They used to be made as one of the "small red things from Konosu town" (鴻巣の赤物)


CLICK for more photos !


. Daruma, Smallpox and the color Red .
An Essay

akamono, aka mono 赤もの red things (for good luck)

They ward off smallpox and other diseases of children. Also to ward off evil generally.
Some are made quite simple.

The most favorite subjects are


kuma nori Kintoki 熊乗り金時 Kintaro on a bear



tai nori Kintoki 鯛乗り金時 Kintaro on a sea bream

Kintoki is the local name for Kintaro, the Strong Boy.
His toys are bought with the wish for a strong and healthy child.

. Kintaro and Daruma だるま抱き金太郎 .




taiguruma, tai guruma　鯛車　sea bream on wheels
The God of Diseases is invited to sit on this red fish and swim away in the nearest river.


These "red things" are an important cultural property of Japan.

. Clay Dolls from Fushimi - 伏見土人形 .
The Akamono dolls are sold along the access road to 伏見稲荷 Fushimi Inari shrine.

- - - - - Akamono from Fushimi, Kyoto 赤もの　伏見土人形

. akamono komusoo 虚無僧 Komuso begging monk .

. akamono rikishi　赤もの力士 Sumo wrestler .

. akamono Saigyo 西行童子 as a child .

. akamono 三味線弾き shamisen player .

. akamono Tenjin 天神さま Sugawara Michizane .


花もち童女 / 鯛抱き童子 童子「茶坊主/ 伊勢参り姿の童子 /神功皇后 / 狛犬 /虚無僧 / 乳のまし / 大原女
- - About Akamono 赤物人形について
一文人形ともいわれ14ｃｍから5ｃｍぐらいの小さな安物の伏見人形で、
昔は、皿秤ではかり、何文といって売られた。　
- reference source : hushimi-ningyou.jp... -



赤もの　大黒 Daikoku

and 恵比須 / 布袋 / 立ち娘
- reference source : sakigake-one.sakura.ne.jp... -


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nerimono 練り物 "twisted" clay dolls



nerimono 練り物 "twisted" clay dolls
made with clay or raw natural glue and chips of paulownia, leftover from woodcarving of furniture and other dolls. This paste is pressed into molds and later colored.

Together with the nerimono from Iwatsuki in Saitama, they are the most popular "seasonal dolls" in Kanto.
The tradition goes back to the clay dolls of Fushimi, Kyoto, and have been handed down in the Sekiguchi family 関口家, in the store Yoshimiya 吉見屋, since about 1580.

The akamono are the most popular among the nerimono.

They come in traditional forms (above) and some more modern ones.




. inu 戌 /　犬 Dog dolls and toys .

. mi (hitsuji) 未 Ram (sheep) .


source : kyoudoningyou/osaka...
Osaka neri ningyo 大阪練り人形 from Osaka
suwari musume 座り娘 girl sitting down


. Kagawa nerimono 練り物 by Oosaki Toyogoroo 大崎豊五郎 .

. Kanazawa no nerimono　金沢の練り物 hand-twisted toys .
Ishikawa prefecture

. Ise no nerimono 伊勢の練り物 twisted clay dolls from Ise Shrine .
Mie Folk Art - 三重県

Niigata 加茂松原 Kamo Matsubara
. 練人形 Kamo Matsubara neri-ningyo dolls .

Wakayama, Goboo town 御坊市 Gobo
Tenjin and Daruma

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shoobu taichi 菖蒲太刀 iris sword
For the Boy's Festival on May 5. They are made from wood and can be up to 1 meter long.

. Musha ningyoo 武者人形 Samurai Dolls .
for the Boy's Festival

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aka Tenjin 赤天神 red Tenjin sama
kuro Tenjin 黒天神 black Tenjin sama
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

. Tenjin sama - INTRODUCTION .

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kamishimobina, kamishimo hina 裃雛
hina dolls in kamishimo robes



kosei bina 古製雛 old hina dolls


. Hina Doll Festival (hina matsuri 雛祭り) .
March 3

source : http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/

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. Daruma, Smallpox and the color Red .

. Regional Folk Toys from Japan .


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. Nakasendo - 07 Konosu station .

- quote -
Kōnosu-shuku (鴻巣宿, Kōnosu-shuku)

the seventh of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto during the Edo period.
It was located in the present-day city of Kōnosu, Saitama Prefecture.
The original Kōnosu-shuku was located in what is now the city of Kitamoto; however, when the system of post stations on the Nakasendō was formalized by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1602, the post station relocated to the north to its current location.
The new location was approximately 18 ri, 8-chō from the starting point of the Nakasendō at Nihonbashi, or approximately 48 kilometers.
It was 16.4 kilometers from Kumagai-shuku and 7.2 kilometers from the following Okegawa-juku.
Due to the distance between Kōnosu-shuku and Kumagai-shuku, an ai no shuku, Fukiage-shuku was located in-between.
The reason for the move is unclear today, but in its new location the Nakasendō was not the only road running through Kōnosu-shuku. It also had roads connecting to Matsuyama (present-day Higashimatsuyama), Nin (present-day Gyōda), and Kisaichi (present-day Kisai). Most of the post station burned down in a fire in 1767, but was soon rebuilt.
Per an 1843 guidebook issued by the Inspector of Highways (道中奉行, Dōchu-būgyō), the town stretched for about 1.9 kilometers along the highway, with a population of 2274 in 556 houses, and boasted one honjin, one waki-honjin, one tonya and 58 hatago.
At the entrance to the post station is Shōgan-ji, a large temple in the Jōdoshū sect.
- source : wikipedia -

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